Word count: 2579
𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄, 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄, 𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐎, and Lila crouched at the side of a blue car, peering over at the Mexican Consulate. It was a few minutes past five, and the attendees of the gala were streaming in as the sun shone down on them.
"So, what's the plan?" whispered Lila to the man in front of her.
Diego turned his head to face the others behind him, his eyes gazing over them. He spoke softly as he instructed, "We infiltrate, we identify, we extract. Double time."
Lila turned to Valerie, her face scrunched up. "What the hell's he talking about?"
Valerie gave a small sigh, rolling her eyes at Diego's choice of words. He always needed to make things more dramatic. "Find the old man and get out fast."
Diego turned to them again, clearly offended as he scoffed. "That's what I said." He then turned back towards the front, peering over the hood of the car, and gave a curt nod. "On me.'"
And with that, not even looking back at them to make sure they understood his command, he rushed forward, keeping his head ducked as he headed to the car in front of them.
Lila looked back at Valerie and Five and raised her eyebrows. "After you."
Five leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowed at Lila. Valerie silently groaned before nudging him slightly to tell him to stop, but he ignored her.
Lila furrowed her eyebrows as she incredulously questioned, "What, I can't be polite?"
"Cut the crap. All right?" Five muttered, his eyes fixated on hers. "My dimwitted brother might buy you bullshit, but I don't trust you for a second."
She didn't seem fazed in the least as the corners of her lips tugged upwards. "O ye of little faith."
An irritated smile grew onto his face. "Stick it up your ass."
She giggled softly before turning and following Diego, and the other two followed suit. Hoping to avoid the long lineup at the front, and not wanting to be caught, the four of them snuck around to the back of the Consulate and slipped in through the back door.
The room they entered was packed with conversing people who were all dressed rather expensively. There was a glittering chandelier, dripping with fake diamonds that hung in the room over, lighting it quite dimly. Two tall poles guarded the door, both of them have a loose Mexican flag draped on them.
Five took a glass of whiskey from a waiter dressed in white and followed the others as they headed to the middle of the room.
Diego peered around at the chatting men and women, a small frown on his face as he shook his head. "I don't see Dad anywhere."
"Just keep an eye out for the Majestic Twelve," Five instructed as he glanced around before downing his drink and handing the now-empty glass to a passing waiter. "I got the upstairs. Val, you take the left wing."
"Diego, try not to do anything too stupid," Valerie sighed, eliciting a soft giggle from Lila and a roll of the eyes from the man beside her.
As Five headed up the stairs, Valerie stepped through the large crowds, swivelling her head as she searched for Reginald. Although there were many tall, lanky men with stylish goatees, she recognized none of them to belong to her father.
She said a few 'Excuse me''s and 'Pardon me''s as she made her way across the room, weaving awkwardly between people. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She turned around with furrowed eyebrows to see an older man around 5'4". His hair was white, but it was barely visible with the few strands that remained on his head, and he had a fancy pair of gold spectacles that were pushed up on the bridge of his nose.
"Uh, hi," Valerie greeted agitatedly as she clasped her hands behind her back and glanced around her. "Can I help you?"
"Hey, darling," he drawled, his voice raspy as he raised his eyebrows. "You're looking quite fine tonight, I must say."
"Oh, uh . . ." She let out a nervous chuckle, her eyes now searching for any sign of either Diego or Five, or even Lila. "Thanks?"
"Mind if I steal a dance?" he queried as he winked at her, immediately sending a sense of uncomfortableness shooting through her stomach.
"Oh, well . . . I have a boyfriend," she said timidly, twisting her fingers behind her back.
"I'm not surprised; a beauty like you can't be roaming around free," he said slyly as he stepped towards her. He spread his arms out as he dramatically looked from side-to-side before saying, "But I don't see any boyfriend around here."
"He's . . . upstairs," Valerie mumbled.
"Well, then, he won't see if I do this." The man quickly gripped both sides of her waist with his wrinkled hands and soon slid his hands down to her hips as he pulled her closer.
"Please don't."
"Oh, come on, darling." He took a step forward, his hands still lingering on her hips as a taunting smile played upon his lips.
"Oh, you know what? I think I hear my . . . mother . . . calling . . ." She pushed his hands off of her as she began to take steps backward. "All right, bye!"
And with that, she turned and rushed back over to where she had come from, hoping she could find Diego and Lila.
Suddenly, she heard Diego scream for Lila from the upstairs, and she felt her heart race with fear. Immediately, she zipped up the stairs to find that the Swedish men that had attacked Hazel were now here, beating the shit out of Diego and Five.
She ran over to Diego, who was being held by one Swede and repeatedly punched in the gut by another.
Valerie grabbed onto the shoulders of the man who was punching Diego, who had slicked, white hair and a cunning smile. After getting a few punches in, and receiving a couple of them in response, she kicked him square in the chest and caused him to fall back out the window.
She looked to her side to see Diego and the other man still tussling, and then looked to the other side, where she saw Lila fighting with another Swede as Five watched with confusion. Now was not the time.
She looked out the window to see Reginald standing as he waited for his car. Taking the opportunity, Valerie raced down the stairs and out of the back door, approaching the side of the Consulate.
She stumbled slightly as she tried to think of what to do. Then, an idea came to mind.
"'Tell me about a complicated man, muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost'," she shouted to him in Greek. It was a line from The Odyssey, a fable he had forced them to learn in its original language when they were twelve.
A look of stupor came over Reginald's face as he looked towards her, but after being called by a woman in the car next to him, he shook his head slightly and entered.
Valerie groaned as the car drove away, rubbing her forehead just as the other three arrived.
"No luck?" Diego murmured.
She shook her head.
Lila, her forehead dripping with sweat, sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Hate to be the boring one, guys, but, uh, it's time we get the hell out of here."
She gave them a small grin before she crossed in front of them and began to head back to where they had come from.
Five's voice made her stop as he jeered, "When you say 'we', who exactly are you referring to?"
"Not a lot of ambiguity in that sentence," she remarked, though her usual confident smile was beginning to falter.
Five's hands clasped behind his back as he leaned forward, an irritated smile on his face. "Listen, I don't know who you are, or where you came from . . . but whatever it is, I'd advise you to return posthaste."
"She's right, Five," Diego muttered as he looked around at the fleeing people. "We gotta get out of here.
"I just saved your life, you kinder-shit!" Lila retaliated angrily. "If I hadn't stepped in, all that would be left of you is a blazer and some bloody socks."
"And that's the problem," Five cut in, his eyes fixated on her face. "You're too good. You ask too many questions. You know too much." An incredulous smile came upon his face as he uttered, "And you fight like you know what you're doing."
Diego looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. "He's got a point."
"So, I know how to handle myself, and that makes me the bad guy?" Lila scoffed.
"Whoever you are, you're in my way." Five shook his head slightly before he leaned forward and glowered, "If I see you again, I will kill you."
He slipped his hand into Valerie's before pulling her back in the direction that they came from. After giving one last glance to Lila, Valerie followed Five to the edge of the parking lot, where they jumped over the tall stone wall and waited for Diego to arrive.
As soon as Diego had jumped over the wall, Five grabbed a hold of his collar and teleported them back to Elliott's home.
The lights were all dimmed, and the apartment was silent, meaning that Elliott had gone to bed.
After muttering a quick goodnight to Diego, Five grabbed Valerie's hand once more and brought her back to the bedroom they shared.
"What . . . What happened?" Valerie asked quietly as Five put his blazer onto the chair, quite angrily. "With Lila."
"She just . . . fought so well. She grabbed onto the lights and . . ." Five shook his head, his words becoming so quiet as he murmured that she couldn't hear. He turned around and took his tie off, throwing it onto the desk before doing the same with his sweater vest. "What happened with you? What took you so long to get to us?"
"I didn't realize that you guys were . . . Like, there was this guy, and . . ." Valerie trailed off awkwardly, clasping her hands together as she wrinkled her nose.
Five, who had just taken his shoes and socks off, froze in his spot and slowly turned around to face her, his eyes narrowed as he slowly questioned, "What guy?"
"No, he was" —she scrunched her face as she sat down on the edge of the bed and adjusted her necklace— "old."
"What're you talkin' about, Val?" he asked as he walked up in front of her.
"He—I was walking and looking for Dad, and then this dude taps me on the shoulder. I asked him if he needed help, and then he told me that I . . ." She mumbled the last few words so that he couldn't hear.
"Louder."
"He said I looked nice and asked me to dance," she repeated herself.
"And?"
She continued, "And then I told him I had a boyfriend."
"As you should." Five gave a satisfied nod before raising his eyebrows. "Then?"
"Then he said he wasn't surprised because 'a beauty like you can't be roaming around free,'" she air-quoted him with a slightly scrunched face. "And then he said he didn't see any boyfriend around."
"Godda—" He let out a groan that interrupted his own words. "And then?"
"And then, he, um . . ." she trailed off once more, her head tilting downwards as her eyes averted to the ground.
"He what?"
"He . . ."
Five spoke softly as he used the side of his index finger to lift her chin up, "What'd he do, Val?"
"Y'know, just . . ."
"Valerie."
"Okay. He . . ." She gestured how the man had touched her, going from the top of her waist to the bottom of her hips.
"What?" Five said incredulously, his eyes widening. He took a step forward so that her knees hit the lower end of his stomach. He put his hands on the sides of her arms as he worriedly peered at her. "Val, you—"
"It's fine," Valerie reassured him as she shook her head. "I left to look for you guys right after and then found y'all getting pummelled."
He gazed at her for a moment, his eyebrows knit tightly together. "Are you sure?"
"Mhm." She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek before sliding off of the bed. "We better get to bed, it's getting late."
A small grin had spread onto Five's face. "All right, darling."
She winced at the name, her nose wrinkling slightly.
"What?" he teased with raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were growing to like the name?"
"First of all," she scoffed with a raised finger, "I wasn't."
His eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head and asked, "And second?"
"The man" —Valerie swallowed— "also called me that. So . . . kinda weird."
He gave a scoff, looking off towards the side as he muttered to himself, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Wish I was," she sighed as she gave a small shrug.
"Listen," he sighed as he turned back towards her, "tell me what he looks like, I'll track him down and then k—"
"No."
"Fine," Five groaned. He took a step closer to her, his voice becoming more gentle. "Do you want me to stop calling you that?"
Valerie was quiet for a moment before she shook her head. "No, it's fine."
"You sure?" he asked. "I know you don't like it."
"I'm sure." She gave him a small smile before leaning forward and planting another kiss, this time on the lips.
Before she could pull away, Five wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her deeply. She rested her hands on his shoulders, bringing him closer to her. The familiar warmth spread through her as they kissed and she didn't want it to go.
After a few minutes, he drew away, although he kept his face close to hers. They were silent, simply just enjoying each other's presence as she softly gripped his shoulders. His eyes met hers as he rested his forehead against hers, and they seemed to convey exactly what he wanted. And she wasn't complaining.
His lips pressed against hers once more and his hands ventured to her back, and, slowly, he unzipped the back of her dress. After letting her dress slide to the ground, she pulled him closer to her by his collar before unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off. It wasn't long before his pants joined the rest of the clothes on the floor.
They stumbled back towards the bed as the kiss became more passionate. His fingers teasingly ran over the thin strap of her bra before unclasping it at the back and sliding it off of her.
The feeling of his warm, bare skin on hers caused butterflies to erupt into her stomach and it only multiplied as his hands roamed her body. He drew away for a moment, his hands now caressing her lower back.
"Val?" he murmured, keeping his lips only an inch away from hers.
"Mhm?" she hummed.
"I love you."
She giggled softly. "I love you too."